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More than 90 people were killed when a migrant boat sank off Yemen’s coast, Yemeni officials and a source at the International Organization for Migration told AFP Tuesday, updating earlier tolls.The boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank on Sunday as it headed towards Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.Late Tuesday, a Yemeni source at UN agency the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that two bodies, which were initially buried by local fishermen after they washed up on the beach and began rotting, had been recovered.This has taken the toll of confirmed deaths from the shipwreck to 96.Earlier a Yemeni security source and a local official in Abyan said 94 bodies had been recovered and most of them had been buried, with the local official saying corpses were still washing up on the shore.A journalist collaborating with AFP saw at least two corpses washed up on the shore, near the area where the ship sank.He also saw worn-out tents and African people being trucked out of the remote area from which smugglers operate.Authorities said security forces and government allies in Abyan carried out a sweep against camp sites for migrants on the coast, operated by smugglers.Abyan’s province top security official, Brigadier General Ali Nasser Buzaid, said the dead included men and women.Local authorities and the IOM said the boat was carrying around 200 people.On Monday, two Yemeni security officials told AFP that 32 people were rescued and dozens were still missing.Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.strs/aya/ami

More countries must recognise a Palestinian state and stand up to Israel to stop its “genocidal activities”, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told AFP in an interview Tuesday.Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN’s top court in December 2023 arguing that its war in the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide.As some of Israel’s allies “are now also saying, no, this can’t continue, it means that it is bringing us closer and closer to the Israel regime (stopping) the genocidal activities”, Lamola said.South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice argues that the war in Gaza, which began with the militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, breached the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. Israel has strongly denied that accusation.Several nations have added their weight to the proceedings, including Spain, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Chile and Libya.The leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada have meanwhile said they plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September, and urged other nations to do so.”We call for more countries to continue to recognise Palestine,” Lamola told AFP.”This will put the pressure so that we can end up with a ceasefire.”After 22 months of combat sparked by the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory.More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory’s 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine.Lamola said that had the world acted when South Africa made its case at the ICJ, “we would not be where we are”.”It’s clear starvation is emerging, famine, and all these are things we warned about in our ICJ case — that this will lead to famine, will lead to complete cleansing of the population,” he said.”It’s rather late, yes, but it’s better than never. So let them act, let them support, let them put the pressure.”- Relations at ‘a low’ -South Africa-US relations have “reached a low” with Washington attempting to interfere in domestic issues, the minister said.The two nations have been at odds over a range of domestic and international policies, including Pretoria’s ICJ case and debunked claims by US President Donald Trump that white South Africans face discrimination.Tariffs of 30 percent — the highest on any sub-Saharan African country — are set to hit certain South African exports Friday in the absence of a trade deal.”In the past we have not had this situation where another government would want to interfere on a domestic issue like it is now,” Lamola said.”Since the last 30 years, there have been disagreements with the US administration on a number of issues, but the diplomatic lines of engagement have always been open,” he said.South Africa’s failure to reach a new trade deal has been criticised at home, including by parties in the coalition government which have accused President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team of diplomatic missteps.But Lamola told AFP that Pretoria had done “everything possible under the sun” to reach a deal.Political disagreements had not come up in trade talks with the United States, he said.- Trump ‘welcome’ at G20 -“The situation with the US for any country, not just for South Africa, is unpredictable,” he said.Equally uncertain is US participation in the G20 summit hosted in November in Johannesburg, which Trump last week said he “probably won’t” attend.”He’s welcome to come to South Africa and participate,” Lamola said, “but it’s his decision.”The minister reiterated Pretoria’s intent to promote its theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” at the high-level summit.”The period of unilateralism has passed. We will no longer ever go back there,” he said.”The world must accept it is now the period where we are all interconnected, we all have to act together to find solutions for climate change, inequality, artificial intelligence. We all have to work as one global community.”

The brother of Israeli hostage Evyatar David called on the world to “come together” to secure his freedom following the publication of a video in which the emaciated captive was shown purportedly digging his own grave.David, 24, is one of 251 people taken captive by Hamas and its allies during their October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.Last week, Hamas released propaganda videos showing him severely undernourished and visibly weakened, including one in which he digs with a shovel in the sandy floor of a tunnel, saying he is preparing his grave.”The world must come together now… and demand his release. He must be saved!” his brother Ilay David said in an interview Tuesday with AFP in Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv, at the family home where they both were raised.The recent videos of Evyatar David and fellow hostage Rom Braslavski have sparked outrage and fear for their safety among Israelis, as well as condemnations of Hamas from abroad.  In captivity for nearly 22 months, David has since become a symbol of the ongoing ordeal of the 20 hostages believed to still be alive among the 49 held by Hamas. Red and black posters demanding his release hang on the walls of the family’s living room, the same posters that plaster walls across Israel in solidarity with the hostages.On February 23, Hamas had released a video showing David sitting in a vehicle alongside another hostage as they were forced to watch a staged ceremony marking the release of three other captives during a brief ceasefire that later collapsed.”That was the last sign of life we had from him,” Ilay David told AFP. “We thought then that was the worst possible cruelty,” he added. “We didn’t think (Hamas) could go any lower.””These new images show just how urgent it is to get him out of that tunnel.”- Unable to watch -Ilay admitted he had only seen still images from the latest five-minute Hamas video showing his brother. “I wasn’t able to watch it or listen to it. Seeing it with my mother would completely wreck us,” he told AFP.Evyatar “is my little brother. We grew up together, played music together. I was raised to protect my younger siblings,” he continued. “He hasn’t given up — and neither will we, until he comes home.”In a statement, the David family warned that their son “has only a few days left to live in his current condition”, expressing outrage at the “deliberate starvation, torture, and abuse” he is enduring.Evyatar David was abducted along with his childhood friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal from the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, where more than 370 people were killed and 44 taken hostage.The two friends spent more than eight months in Hamas tunnels with Tal Shoham, a man abducted from a kibbutz and released in February after more than 500 days in captivity.- Only in a cemetery -In an interview with AFP on Tuesday, Shoham, now 40 years old, described the torment the three hostages endured together. “We suffered from severe starvation. I lost 30 kilograms (66 pounds) during my captivity, Guy and Evyatar each lost at least 25. And now, I believe they’ve lost another 15 to 20 kilos.”He recalled the cruelty of their captors, who ate meat in front of them while giving them as little as a single portion of pita bread a day.The three captives were held inside an apartment until June 2024, when they were moved into a tunnel.”I thought I had already experienced the worst, but I was wrong,” Shoham said of his time underground.He said he recognised the tunnel shown in the latest video as the one where he spent months on a mattress, haunted by “the hunger, the humidity and the inability to breathe”.In the most recent footage, Shoham said he could see in David’s eyes that “he has lost all hope”.”I used to imagine their return — the tears, the reunion, the hugs,” he said, referring to David and Gilboa-Dallal.”But today… I don’t know anymore,” he admitted. “Maybe I’ll only see them again in a cemetery.”

The US trade gap narrowed in June, government data showed Tuesday, as imports pulled back more than exports while businesses grappled with President Donald Trump’s tariffs on allies and competitors alike.The overall trade deficit in the world’s biggest economy narrowed by 16 percent to $60.2 billion, down from a revised $71.7 billion figure in May, …

US trade gap shrinks on imports retreat as tariffs fuel worries Read More »

More countries must recognise a Palestinian state and stand up to Israel to stop its “genocidal activities”, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told AFP in an interview Tuesday. Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN’s top court in December 2023 arguing that its war in the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide.As some of Israel’s allies “are now also saying, no, this can’t continue, it means that it is bringing us closer and closer to the Israel regime to stop the genocidal activities”, Lamola said. This will also boost efforts to “allow humanitarian access to the people of Gaza” and “to agree to go into a negotiation table to cease the fire”, he said.”We really welcome this development, and we call for more countries to continue to recognise Palestine.””We welcome the intention to recognise by France, Canada, and all countries of the world. This will put the pressure so that we can end up with ceasefire,” Lamola said.South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice argues that the war in Gaza, which began with the militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, breached the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. Israel has strongly denied that accusation.Several nations have added their weight to the proceedings, including Spain, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Chile and Libya.The leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada have meanwhile said they plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September, and urged other nations to do so.The announcements by some of Washington’s closest allies have displeased US President Donald Trump.Lamola said that had the world acted when South Africa made its case at the ICJ, “we would not be where we are”.”It’s clear starvation is emerging, famine, and all these are things we warned about in our ICJ case — that this will lead to famine, will lead to complete cleansing of the population,” he said.”It’s rather late, yes, but it’s better than never. So let them act, let them support, let them put the pressure.”

United Nations special rapporteurs called Tuesday for the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being “exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas”.An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF’s operations.The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages.”The GHF … is an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in serious breach of international law,” the experts said in a joint statement.”The entanglement of Israeli intelligence, US contractors and ambiguous non-governmental entities underlines the urgent need for robust international oversight and action under UN auspices.”Calling it ‘humanitarian’ adds on to Israel’s humanitarian camouflage and is an insult to the humanitarian enterprise and standards.”On July 22, the UN rights office said Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF started operations — nearly three-quarters of them in the vicinity of GHF sites.”Without clear accountability, the very idea of humanitarian relief may ultimately become a casualty of modern hybrid warfare,” the special rapporteurs said.”The credibility and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance must be restored by dismantling the GHF, holding it and its executives accountable, and allowing experienced and humanitarian actors from the UN and civil society alike to take back the reins of managing and distributing lifesaving aid.”The joint statement was signed by Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.Israel accuses her of having an “obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimise the state of Israel”.The statement was also signed by 18 other special rapporteurs, plus other UN experts and members of UN working groups — a notably large number for such statements.Special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.More than two million people live in the Gaza Strip.GHF says it has distributed more than 1.76 million boxes of foodstuffs to date.”We continue to improve our operations,” GHF executive director John Acree said Monday.”We urge the international humanitarian community to join us — we have the scale and capacity to deliver more aid to the people of Gaza.”